Post by porsche on Aug 29, 2017 20:26:48 GMT
Well, here we are. The game that started over two and a half months ago is finally coming to an end. It's been a long and sometimes bumpy ride, but I had a lot of fun in this game. This is a great series, and I want to thank Kat and the other hosts for giving me a chance to play and for making this game a blast. I also want to thank Nicole for delaying the game a day, inadvertently making it easier for me to do endgame challenges when I was out of town 
To the prejurors that have been supporting me, thank you and I miss you. I've gotten a warm fuzzy feeling any time one of you liked my posts. Jury, it's been a lot of fun playing with all of you. Whether we were on the same side or not, you guys have made this experience what it was. And finally, Corey, you've been a good friend and a good ally and I wish you luck. You weren't who I initially planned on sitting next to, but I'm glad you're here and I'd like to keep in contact outside of the game.
To the prejurors that have been supporting me, thank you and I miss you. I've gotten a warm fuzzy feeling any time one of you liked my posts. Jury, it's been a lot of fun playing with all of you. Whether we were on the same side or not, you guys have made this experience what it was. And finally, Corey, you've been a good friend and a good ally and I wish you luck. You weren't who I initially planned on sitting next to, but I'm glad you're here and I'd like to keep in contact outside of the game.The Beginning
I knew coming into this game that I had my work cut out for me. I was up against 19 players, all of whom were either strong players or entertaining characters. The best place to be coming into an All Stars game is to not be seen as a threat. That was never going to work for me. I had won Season 13 while never being nominated. People were going to always be watching me.
I won the first HOH and to put it nicely, it was a disaster. I based my decisions off the assumption that I could nominate Natalie. And when that assumption was wrong and Sarah quit, ending the week abruptly, it was like I had nominated three people and had none of the benefits of being HOH.
Clearly, I needed to do something if I wanted to avoid being a prejuror. I knew that I needed to change my game. In season 13, I had won while never getting nominated, having alliances with everyone, and throwing competitions. My game was a lot different here, and it needed to be. If I tried to make deals with everyone, I would be exposed and sent home. What I did instead was work my social game and try to have solid relationships with everyone. With such a large cast, all I needed was for the person in power to feel like I was good with them, and that other people were more of a threat.
While this was happening, I let other people make mistakes and put the target on themselves, making what happened week 1 a distant memory. Jen tried to save Tiffany and drew attention. Alliances were getting exposed left and right, and while people knew who I was close to, I was never the primary target. My main alliance was me, Kelsey, Shelli and Jen and of those four, I was the smallest target. Ally after ally left, but I was never one of them. This was the weakest part of my game and I didn't really have any control, but I survived when after the first week and with my reputation coming in, I really shouldn't have.
I knew coming into this game that I had my work cut out for me. I was up against 19 players, all of whom were either strong players or entertaining characters. The best place to be coming into an All Stars game is to not be seen as a threat. That was never going to work for me. I had won Season 13 while never being nominated. People were going to always be watching me.
I won the first HOH and to put it nicely, it was a disaster. I based my decisions off the assumption that I could nominate Natalie. And when that assumption was wrong and Sarah quit, ending the week abruptly, it was like I had nominated three people and had none of the benefits of being HOH.
Clearly, I needed to do something if I wanted to avoid being a prejuror. I knew that I needed to change my game. In season 13, I had won while never getting nominated, having alliances with everyone, and throwing competitions. My game was a lot different here, and it needed to be. If I tried to make deals with everyone, I would be exposed and sent home. What I did instead was work my social game and try to have solid relationships with everyone. With such a large cast, all I needed was for the person in power to feel like I was good with them, and that other people were more of a threat.
While this was happening, I let other people make mistakes and put the target on themselves, making what happened week 1 a distant memory. Jen tried to save Tiffany and drew attention. Alliances were getting exposed left and right, and while people knew who I was close to, I was never the primary target. My main alliance was me, Kelsey, Shelli and Jen and of those four, I was the smallest target. Ally after ally left, but I was never one of them. This was the weakest part of my game and I didn't really have any control, but I survived when after the first week and with my reputation coming in, I really shouldn't have.
The Second Quarter
I was tired of losing allies and feeling powerless, and once again, I knew something needed to change. I was telling everyone how my allies had left and how I felt alone, and that was true. But behind the scenes, I was focusing on gathering enough allies to eventually take over the game. Kelsey and Corey were still in the game, and they were fantastic allies, but I knew I needed more.
Cody and I had nominated each other early on, but after he had put me on the block, I smiled, told him I understood and continued to talk with him. Eventually, he told me that I was one of the people he talked with the most. We made an alliance and he became one of my closest allies.
Me/Kelsey/Shelli and Zach/Natalie had been on opposite sides in the first part of the game, but we talked and made a truce. I'm not going to claim credit for that, but it benefited me, and I used the opportunity to finally connect with Natalie, and I discovered that I really liked her.
These two examples highlight what I consider my best quality as a player: I never held grudges. If somebody wronged me, I didn't forget what they had done, but at the same time, I continued talking with them and maintained a connection. In Big Brother, anyone can get power at any time and I never wanted to totally write someone off. And if I wronged someone, I would apologize and try to win back their trust. When I was nominated at the final 11, two of the votes I had to save were those of Cody and Natalie, and they were two people I had nominated or almost nominated in Week 1.
I was tired of losing allies and feeling powerless, and once again, I knew something needed to change. I was telling everyone how my allies had left and how I felt alone, and that was true. But behind the scenes, I was focusing on gathering enough allies to eventually take over the game. Kelsey and Corey were still in the game, and they were fantastic allies, but I knew I needed more.
Cody and I had nominated each other early on, but after he had put me on the block, I smiled, told him I understood and continued to talk with him. Eventually, he told me that I was one of the people he talked with the most. We made an alliance and he became one of my closest allies.
Me/Kelsey/Shelli and Zach/Natalie had been on opposite sides in the first part of the game, but we talked and made a truce. I'm not going to claim credit for that, but it benefited me, and I used the opportunity to finally connect with Natalie, and I discovered that I really liked her.
These two examples highlight what I consider my best quality as a player: I never held grudges. If somebody wronged me, I didn't forget what they had done, but at the same time, I continued talking with them and maintained a connection. In Big Brother, anyone can get power at any time and I never wanted to totally write someone off. And if I wronged someone, I would apologize and try to win back their trust. When I was nominated at the final 11, two of the votes I had to save were those of Cody and Natalie, and they were two people I had nominated or almost nominated in Week 1.
The DPOV
I know there will be some people who said I got lucky with this, and I did. But at the same time, I had built such a strong bond with Kelsey that she would have used a super powerful Diamond Power of Veto to save me. And not only was she using it on me, she was using it to save me at the final 12, the round after she got the power and before jury had even started. She could have easily decided to save it for herself and I wouldn't have blamed her, but she didn't.
Howard's Lie
It's the Fast Forward round. Erika has just saved herself with the veto, and despite me pushing for Howard to be the replacement, Kelsey nominates Cody. Howard told me that Cody had sold out my alliance with him and Kelsey and says we need to vote him out. I agree, but a couple things aren't adding up. When Howard had started trying to sell out Cody, he had led with some weak reasons, before dropping the bomb that he knew about our alliance an hour later. He also had to leave for work immediately after I asked for a quote. While it was possible he really did have work, it sure was convenient timing.
When Howard finally showed me his quote, I realized almost instantly that the timestamps were off, told Howard I knew he was lying and made him admit what had actually happened. This is something I figured out completely by myself.
Now that I knew what had actually happened, I realized that A) while Arlie may be willing to work with me, Cody was the more dependable ally and B) that Arlie going would weaken Howard. I helped flip the votes to keep Cody, and he stayed.
When Howard finally showed me his quote, I realized almost instantly that the timestamps were off, told Howard I knew he was lying and made him admit what had actually happened. This is something I figured out completely by myself.
Now that I knew what had actually happened, I realized that A) while Arlie may be willing to work with me, Cody was the more dependable ally and B) that Arlie going would weaken Howard. I helped flip the votes to keep Cody, and he stayed.
Natalie's HOH
The fast forward round had left my alliance with Kelsey and Cody exposed. When Natalie won HOH, she nominated me against Cody. Cody was the target, but he won the veto, leaving me in a lot of danger. Natalie knew about me/Kelsey/Cody and me/Kelsey/Corey, and with Kelsey and Cody targeting each other, I was the glue. Getting rid of me would have made a lot of sense.
I talked to Natalie and she told me that she was going to nominate Corey with the intention of sending me home. Now, I don't know what exactly influenced Natalie's decision, but what I do know is that 12:10 PM, Natalie said that I was her target. I asked her who would be the alternative to me, and she said Erika. I told her how Erika was a much bigger jury threat and competition threat, and said that she should keep me since I wasn't going to win any competitions. At 12:39 PM, Natalie said that she was "heavily leaning towards putting up Erika." She followed through, Erika was nominated and sent home unanimously.
The fast forward round had left my alliance with Kelsey and Cody exposed. When Natalie won HOH, she nominated me against Cody. Cody was the target, but he won the veto, leaving me in a lot of danger. Natalie knew about me/Kelsey/Cody and me/Kelsey/Corey, and with Kelsey and Cody targeting each other, I was the glue. Getting rid of me would have made a lot of sense.
I talked to Natalie and she told me that she was going to nominate Corey with the intention of sending me home. Now, I don't know what exactly influenced Natalie's decision, but what I do know is that 12:10 PM, Natalie said that I was her target. I asked her who would be the alternative to me, and she said Erika. I told her how Erika was a much bigger jury threat and competition threat, and said that she should keep me since I wasn't going to win any competitions. At 12:39 PM, Natalie said that she was "heavily leaning towards putting up Erika." She followed through, Erika was nominated and sent home unanimously.
Howard's Eviction
At the Final 6, Kelsey won HOH and targeted Cody, putting up Howard next to him. But I thought about it, and concluded that Howard going was better for ME. I hadn't forgotten his lie from two rounds ago, I trusted Cody more, and I was worried about leaving him and Natalie in the game and one competition away from the final 4. I talked to Corey about evicting Howard, and we flipped the votes and sent him home 2-1.
I won the final 5 HOH and everyone in the game was pressuring me to get Kelsey out. But that wasn't what was good for me, so I didn't do it. I felt like Cody was thinking about cutting me, and he was one of the best competitors left, and I decided that my best path to the win was cutting Cody first.
Cody's eviction left me in a very good spot. Even though I couldn't compete for final 4 HOH, there were very few HOH/POV winner combinations that would have put me in danger. Once Natalie won the HOH, I was guaranteed to make the final 3.
At the Final 6, Kelsey won HOH and targeted Cody, putting up Howard next to him. But I thought about it, and concluded that Howard going was better for ME. I hadn't forgotten his lie from two rounds ago, I trusted Cody more, and I was worried about leaving him and Natalie in the game and one competition away from the final 4. I talked to Corey about evicting Howard, and we flipped the votes and sent him home 2-1.
My HOH
I won the final 5 HOH and everyone in the game was pressuring me to get Kelsey out. But that wasn't what was good for me, so I didn't do it. I felt like Cody was thinking about cutting me, and he was one of the best competitors left, and I decided that my best path to the win was cutting Cody first.
Cody's eviction left me in a very good spot. Even though I couldn't compete for final 4 HOH, there were very few HOH/POV winner combinations that would have put me in danger. Once Natalie won the HOH, I was guaranteed to make the final 3.
Kelsey's Eviction
I won the final 4 veto and had to make a decision. On one side was Corey, somebody who was a good ally and was seen by the other players as an "easier" win. On the other side was Kelsey, who had been my #1 ally for almost the whole game and had kept me safe numerous times. My heart really wanted to take Kelsey to the end and stay loyal. But my head knew that Kelsey was a massive threat and that a final 2 against Kelsey would have been an uphill battle at best.
In the end, I chose to play for the win and made the tough decision to cut Kelsey. Kelsey was a huge part of this season, and many, many people had wanted her out. I was the one who finally did it.
In the end, I chose to play for the win and made the tough decision to cut Kelsey. Kelsey was a huge part of this season, and many, many people had wanted her out. I was the one who finally did it.
Summary
There are three parts to playing a great Big Brother game: competitions, strategy and the social game. I had all three. I won four competitions in a row, earning my spot in the end and getting out the people I needed to get out. My strategic game was great. I knew who I needed to get out each round and, at least since the jury started, I was always able to make it happen. I also felt like I had a very strong social game. I had relationships with pretty much everyone, I knew information before it leaked, and I was able to keep myself safe even when people who weren't my allies were HOH.
I played a very well rounded game, and I'm proud of the way I played. I made a lot of moves and never received an eviction vote. I would be honored to join Estelle as the only two time winners, and I hope you guys make that happen.
Thanks once again to the hosts and players for this game. I've had a great time and I'm looking forward to your questions!
I played a very well rounded game, and I'm proud of the way I played. I made a lot of moves and never received an eviction vote. I would be honored to join Estelle as the only two time winners, and I hope you guys make that happen.
Thanks once again to the hosts and players for this game. I've had a great time and I'm looking forward to your questions!
And to all the other hosts and the housecallers who were following the season, thank you as well.